Sailing from BVI's the St John?

We've sailed in the BVI's many times, but have never sailed to St John.

We'll be on a Moorings boat, and would appreciate any thoughts on if it would be worth spending a day/night there on the way from Jost to Norman towards the end of our trip. If not we'd probably go to Cooper or Peter, but some of us have been to both of those.

I'm just not sure how much time we'd tie up going thru Customs. If we do so, where is it best to go thru Customs considering our route?

Is it worth the effort?

Thanks!!!!

Clear out on Jost - clear in at Cruz Bay STJ - move to your desired anchorage for a day or 2 - clear back in at West End to go to Norman Is from STJ.
Get the proper info and forms from Moorings office before you leave.
Time spent in clearing - out-in -in - depends on busyness of C&I plus the time spent getting to Cruz Bay - a few hours combined I guess.
Few services of any kind available in the STJ National Park so plan provisioning accordingly.

We think St. John is always worth the effort. We just spent a night in Salt Pond, St. John on the way back from STM via Virgin Gorda and had a pristine bay to ourselves while surrounded by national park. It will be quite a contrast to most BVI anchorages, with no more than a parking lot, beach and hiking trails. Trunk Bay does have a snack bar and Cinnamon Bay has a small camp store and restaurant.

Customs are pretty straightforward. You need to make certain that Moorings provides you the proper documentation. We see Moorings/Sunsail boats around St. John all the time, so the charter company knows what to provide.

If you draw less than 6' you can anchor in Cruz Bay Creek near the customs dock and dinghy to the NPS dinghy dock. Do not pull up to the customs wharf. If you draw more than 6' than you can moor at the Lind Point/Caneel Bay mooring field and dinghy in.

Cruz Bay is a great harbor village, so do budget some walking around time. We prefer to spend the night at Francis/Maho Bay or Leinster Bay. NPS moorings are $26 per night.

Cheers, RickG

edit - I found my answer.

WOW, Rick, the moorings went from $15- 26? Quite an increase, so the "old man" rate is now $13? We love St.John, there is a very nice market right up the hill

Right up the hill from where? What anchorage/mooring are you referring to? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Coupla things...this Canadian old man pays full pop, unfair, but hey whatya gonna do?
The market referred to may be Starfish market, up the hill from Cruz Bay.
And to the OP, yes St John is well worth the effort, Waterlemon Cay, Francis Bay, Leinster, all really nice places. Provision accordingly as was posted.

We're big fans of STJ

Dolphin Market up the hill from STJ customs

Thanks everyone, great advice!

We shop Dolphin Market, as sail2wind mentioned, in Cruz Bay up the hill past the Lumberyard from the NPS dinghy dock. Starfish Market is a bit of a walk, but they have some more fancy bits.

In Coral Bay there is another Dolphin Market on the west side of the harbor. No dinghy dock, but there is a dinghy line. You can walk about a half mile from the Skinny Legs dinghy dock to the market.

Cheers, RickG

good to know Rick, can you get there from Salt Pond? Pretty cool anchorage, great snorkeling.

Well, you can get to Dolphin Market from Salt Pond, but not by walking. There is a bus stop at the Salt Pond parking lot and the bus runs from there through Coral Bay to Cruz Bay. I would treat it more as a $1 ticket to adventure than public transportation. If you needed to get to Cruz Bay to pickup a boat part its a reasonable option.

http://www.vinow.com/stjohn/getting_around_stj/

Department of Public Works: 1-340-774-0828

Concordia Eco-Resort is walkable/hikeable, run by the former Maho Campground group, has a camp store and a decent cafe.

http://www.concordiaeco-resort.com/

Cheers, RickG

Is there a place to fill up water tanks in Cruz Bay?

The Caneel fuel dock in the Cruz Bay creek across from customs has water. Be mindful of depths. Our 6'5" is too deep to try. Sail2wind has done it with is 5' keel. I see cats pulled up frequently. Red Hook is just across the Sound with deep water at their very busy fuel dock.

Cheers, RickG

If you're gonna check out at West End, I would just top off the tanks there.